Is Cross Bay Ferry future of transportation?

It's taken more than a year of planning, but you can now take a ferry across the bay. The Cross Bay Ferry will make roundtrips between downtown St. Pete and the Tampa Convention Center.

St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman has been waiting for this day. "This is really a monumental day for the Tampa Bay region."

The boat holds almost 150 people. You can ride outside in the sun, under a shelter, or even inside in the air conditioning.

"This is a pilot and it's really about testing to see, is this a mode of transportation people want to use," said Kriseman.

Not everybody thinks this is a good idea. Several people on Facebook commented to the contrary. One person says he thinks 'this taxpayer boondoggle is ridiculous' and another person commented sarcastically that he thinks "it's okay to charge people for new technology transportation to make the transportation companies grow."

However, both cities have worked together to make sure there's transportation to get you where you want to go. Whether it's a Tampa Bay Lightning game in Tampa or a trip to the museum in St. Pete, there's plenty to do on both sides of the bay.